Page 5 - Rescue

Residents in south coastal Andhra evacuated ahead of Michaung landfall

Nearly 900 people residing in villages along the southern coast of Andhra Pradesh have been evacuated to safety. With the severe cyclonic storm Michaung anticipated to hit Bapatla district within hours, residents have been advised against going outdoors. Bapatla district superintendent of police Vakul Jindal told PTI that people living in thatched houses in the region have been evacuated. He said 21 cyclone shelters have been set up, even as 10 trees got uprooted and 12 bridges and culverts are overflowing in the district. As of now there is not much of a human impact. It is raining and a bit windy. We have cleared the uprooted trees and stopped vehicle movement at overflowing places. We are vigilant and we will see what happens and respond accordingly, Jindal said. While some people were moved to shelters in vehicles, people living nearby walked there. Heavy rains continue to lash several parts of Andhra Pradesh as the severe cyclonic storm Michaung' looming over the Bay of Bengal

Indonesia: Marapi volcano erupts again, halting search for missing climbers

Indonesian authorities halted the search for 12 climbers after Mount Marapi volcano erupted again Monday, spewing a new burst of hot ash as high as 800 meters (2,620 feet) into the air, officials said. The bodies of 11 climbers were recovered earlier in the day but attempts to move them were hindered by the renewed eruption, West Sumatra's Search and Rescue Agency head Abdul Malik said. The search operation would resume once conditions improved, he added. A video released by the agency showed rescuers evacuating an injured climber on a stretcher off the mountain and into a waiting ambulance to be taken to hospital. Marapi initially erupted on Sunday spewing clouds of hot ash. The volcano has stayed at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011, a level indicating above-normal volcanic activity, prohibiting climbers and villagers within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the peak, said Hendra Gunawan, the head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation. This m

11 bodies recovered, 22 missing after volcanic eruption in Indonesia

The bodies of 11 climbers were recovered Monday after a furious eruption of the Mount Marapi volcano as Indonesian rescuers searched for at least 22 others reportedly missing. Mount Marapi in Agam district in West Sumatra province spewed thick columns of ash as high as 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) into the sky in a sudden eruption Sunday and hot ash clouds spread several miles (kilometers). Villages and nearby towns were blanketed by tons of volcanic debris. About 75 climbers started their way up the nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) mountain on Saturday and became stranded. Eight of those rescued Sunday were rushed to hospitals with burn wounds and one also had a broken limb, said Hari Agustian, an official at the local Search and Rescue Agency in Padang, the provincial capital. West Sumatra's Search and Rescue Agency head Abdul Malik said rescuers on Monday morning found 11 bodies of climbers as they searched for those who still missing and rescued three others. The evacuation proces

Minor to medium level collapses happen in tunnel projects usually: NHIDCL

Days after the rescue of 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel due to a partial collapse, an official on Friday said that minor to medium-level collapses occur at any tunnel project normally and these are corrected during the construction. A rescue team on Tuesday pulled out all 41 workers trapped due to the collapse of a portion, around 200 metres from the entrance, of the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days. The 4.5 kilometres long Silkyara tunnel project in Uttarakhand, which is part of the central government's strategic 900-km 'Char Dham Yatra All Weather Road' aims to provide all-weather connectivity to four holy towns of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath in Uttarakhand. "Whenever any tunnel is being built, minor to medium-level collapse of the tunnel is a normal occurrence. We keep correcting it as and when it happens," National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation

Kejriwal to meet rat-hole miners from Delhi who saved 41 tunnel workers

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will meet the rat-hole mining experts from Delhi who participated in the operation to rescue the 41 workers trapped in Silkyara tunnel, officials said on Friday. The workers got trapped inside the tunnel in Uttarakhand after a portion of it collapsed. They were rescued on Tuesday following 17 days of a multi-agency operation. The 12-member team of rat-hole mining experts were called to do the drilling after an American auger machine came across hurdles while clearing the rubble. According to officials, some of them are involved in laying sewer lines and pipelines for the Delhi Jal Board. "Kejriwal will meet them later in the day," an official said. Rat-hole mining involves digging of narrow tunnels, usually 3-4 feet high, for workers to enter and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are often termed "rat holes", as each just about fits one person. At the Silkyara tunnel, the 12 experts were called by Trenchless Engineering Services Pvt Ltd and

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse an 'unfortunate human tragedy', says Sadhguru

It was an unfortunate human tragedy but fortunately, they all came out successfully. Tunnel collapsing happens everywhere in the world, doesn't matter how you do it," Sadhguru said

Rescued worker from Bihar says CM did not send officials at tunnel site

A Bihar resident who was among the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel complained on Wednesday that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not send his officials to the tunnel site to enquire about the workers from the state nor did he contact his relatives back home during their 16-day ordeal. The worker complained of this when Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met him at the community health centre in Chinyalisaur and asked how he was doing. "All other state governments sent their officials to the tunnel to enquire about the well-being of the trapped workers from their respective states. But our chief minister Nitish Kumar did not send anyone nor did he contact our relatives back home to say a word of sympathy. I do not know what mistake we committed," the worker told Dhami. He also expressed his gratitude to the Uttarakhand chief minister for the efforts made by various agencies under his leadership to secure their safe exit from the tunnel. Dhami had set up a ca

U'khand tunnel: CM meets rescued workers, gives Rs 1 lakh cheque to each

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami Wednesday met the workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel and kept under medical observation at a hospital in Chinyalisaur and handed over Rs 1 lakh to each of them. He also spoke to their family members waiting outside the hospital. They thanked him for safely evacuating the trapped workers after almost 17 days. In the hospital, Dhami went from bed to bed speaking to each one of the rescued workers and handing over cheques to them. The chief minister also announced Rs 50,000 reward for each of the rescue workers who went inside the evacuation passage and helped the trapped labourers come out of the tunnel. "I am no less happy about their (workers) evacuation than their families. My Diwali, Igas or Dev Deepavali came yesterday as they were evacuated," the Uttarakhand chief minister told PTI earlier. Dhami said the workers were like his family. "After all they work for us...for the country." He thanked the local deity Baba Baukhnag,

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PM Modi didn't miss single day's update: Dhami on Uttarkashi tunnel rescue

"He (PM Modi) explained everything about how to motivate the experts who were fully engaged and because of his constant guidance, we made this difficult campaign successful," Dhami added

India can do anything to save lives: Patnaik on Uttarkashi tunnel rescue

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that rescuing all 41 workers, who were trapped inside an under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand, proved that the country can do anything and everything to save the lives of its citizens. Patnaik thanked the rescue team for evacuating the 41 labourers, including five from Odisha, from the Silkyara tunnel after almost 17 days. It was a festival-like atmosphere on Tuesday evening in the villages of the five workers from the state as people distributed sweets, beat drums and danced to the tune of music. The family members of the five were now relieved and had thanked the government and all agencies involved in the massive rescue operation. "It gives me immense pleasure to learn about the successful rescue operation and I am very happy that our workers will return home safe," Patnaik said in a statement. The state government has sent a team and the family members of the trapped Odia labourers to the site in Uttarkashi district, he said. The

Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Medical checkup of 41 rescued miners underway

According to government sources, all the workers admitted to the health centre are being given food as per the doctors' advice

Families extend gratitude to govt after rescue of 41 workers from tunnel

The families, enduring prolonged desperation, celebrated the rescue and wholeheartedly thanked the government for bringing their loved ones back

'I salute all the brave': Rahul Gandhi lauds Uttarkashi tunnel rescuers

The safe return of the labour brothers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel of Uttarkashi is very happy news. My heartiest congratulations to them and their families

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: How workers were rescued after 17 days

The workers were pulled out through a passageway made of welded pipes which rescuers previously pushed through rocks

Rescue workers 'close to' breaking through rubble in Silkyara tunnel

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: A portion of the tunnel collapsed on November 12, blocking the exit 41 workers inside

Ambulances ready, road being repaired to rush Silkyara workers to hospital

A separate ward comprising 41 oxygen-supported beds has been readied at the community health centre in Chinyalisaur, about 30 km from Silkyara, for the workers

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue: Manual drilling underway to create escape route

The rescue mission to extract 41 trapped workers, led by multiple agencies, from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand is underway. Check the latest update here

Silkyara tunnel rescue ops: Army's manual drilling begins, but no deadline

Meanwhile, the IMD has issued a Yellow Alert for the area, and a light rain might impact the area in the coming 24-48 hours. NDMA says that the rain is not likely to impact the operations

U'khand tunnel: Rat-hole miners arrive for manual horizontal drilling

Vertical drilling from the top of the Silkyara tunnel, where 41 workers have been trapped for the last 15 days, progressed to 31 metres on Monday as a team of rat-hole miners arrived at the site to start manual drilling horizontally through the rubble. Vertical and manual horizontal drilling are the two methods on which rescue efforts are being focused at the moment. Work on the other options, such as horizontal drilling from the Barkot end of the tunnel is also underway. A total of 86 metres have to be drilled vertically to prepare an escape passage. Pipes of 1.2 metres in diameter have to be laid vertically through the top of the tunnel on which work began on Sunday as a second option to reach the stranded labourers. Lt Gen Harpal Singh (retd), former engineer-in-chief of the Army, informed reporters in Silkyara that vertical drilling has been done up to 31 metres. Singh, who has also headed the Border Roads Organisation, is involved in the rescue operation. The 200-mm diameter .